The Romanian authorities, in close cooperation with their French and British counterparts, have taken down a criminal group that recruited hundreds of money mules to launder the proceeds of an elaborate online fraud scheme. Eurojust assisted the authorities by setting up a joint investigation team (JIT) into the case and coordinated an action day, which led to taking preventative measures against 13 suspects in Romania and the arrest of seven suspects in the United Kingdom. The fraudsters made an estimated profit of at least EUR 3 million, mainly by sending fake business emails.
By sending fake emails from legitimate enterprises, the scammers managed to defraud both individual customers and entire companies. This was mainly done by sending them genuine-looking emails with falsified invoiced that led the victims to pay into the perpetrators’ accounts. Currently there are 113 victims identified from several European countries, in particular from the United Kingdom.
To launder the profits of this fraudulent scheme, the Romanian-based criminal group recruited hundreds of money mules. The recruits were sent to the United Kingdom to open bank accounts and further launder money by transferring the proceeds of the online fraud to the newly opened accounts. Some of the proceeds were also laundered remotely from Romania through the use of UK SIM cards, VPN connections and forged UK residence documents.
From the UK accounts, the illegal proceeds were transferred to accounts in other countries or used for fake payments to UK companies. The money was also used to buy jewellery and other luxury items.
Romanian authorities began investigating the criminal group in 2020, after noticing the online fraud, which dated back to 2018. Given the criminals’ connection to the United Kingdom, collaboration with the UK authorities was necessary.
Through Eurojust, a cross-border investigation was initiated and a joint investigation team was set up. By organising coordination meetings with the authorities and providing financial support, Eurojust ensured that the cross-border investigation progressed smoothly. Europol provided extensive analytical, organisational and financial support in hosting several operational meetings at Europol’s headquarters. Experts from the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) also facilitated the exchange of information and participated in the JIT at Eurojust.
The Romanian, British and French authorities, together with Eurojust and Europol, started planning the action day to take down the criminal group. The action day took place on 9 April. Authorities took preventative measures against 13 suspects, searched 31 places and took freezing measures on several properties in Romania. In the United Kingdom, seven suspects were arrested and five houses were searched. The investigation into the criminal group continues. On the action day, a Europol analyst was deployed on the spot in Romania to provide forensic and analytical support.
The actions were carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:
- Romania: Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice; Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism; Buzau Territorial Service; Police Service of Combating Organised Crime Buzau
- France: Regional Financial Crime Unit Court of Nanterre – Gendarmerie Nationale (SR Pau)
- United Kingdom: Crown Prosecution Service; National Crime Agency